In early June 2012, I booked myself a trip around the world to visit a part of the world I had long wanted to visit. The itinerary was bare, as it contained only intercontinental flights and featured long, empty surface sectors between distant airports. I had planned six weeks in South America, two weeks in North America, one week in Europe, and three days in Hong Kong.

And then I sat on it and dwelled, for months.

Fast forward to now, and I am exactly four weeks shy of my departure date at 8:10am November 27 where I travel to Bogota, Colombia. I am frantically piecing together integral must-do components of my trip, such as clases de Español, hiking the Inca trail, viewing Aurora Borealis and Niagara Falls.

I created a budget to give me an idea of how much I thought I’d need for the trip. Numerous vague assumptions later, I came up with a figure so large I refused to believe it. So I did. And now I regret doing so as thousands of dollars pour out of my bank account to pay deposits for tours and accommodation with little trickling in to replenish the stream. It’s much like a financial El Niño, minus the water restrictions (to Australia, at least).

And I just discovered yesterday that to save $800 in flights, I have to send away my passport to get myself a Brazilian visa and jump through the administrative hoops amid pressing deadlines.

The planning is frantic, yet exhilarating and enjoyable at the same time. I hope the trip itself is more so!

So in short, I don’t have everything sorted, lack the required visas for everywhere I plan to go, have no idea how I will afford it all, but I am very, very excited.

It’ll be the time of my life.